Lucid Tips

There are 2 things that have not changed in Internet Explorer since version 3 - it uses Notepad as the default view source editor and only allows you to download 2 files at one time.

These can be annoying but fortunately a few registry changes is all you need to change the default editor and allow multiple downloads.

Disclaimer: This howto requires edits to registry. Although the changes are simple if done incorrectly editing the registry directly can have serious, unexpected consequences that can prevent the system from starting and require that you reinstall Windows. I am not responsible for loss of data or damage to computers.

Screenshots for this howto are available here

Change default view source editor for Internet Explorer

1. Click on Start->Run
2. Type regedit and click OK
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
4. Right click Internet Explorer and then select New->Key (see screenshot)
5. Type View Source Editor
6. Right click View Source Editor and select New->Key
7. Type Editor Name
8. Right click Default and select Modify (see screenshot)
9. Type in the path to the executable of the editor of your choice (example: “c:\Program Files\TextPad 5\TextPad.exe”) (see screenshot)
10. Click OK
11. Quit Registry Editor

If you are familiar with modifying .reg files you may download my key and modify it and import it. Open this file in Notepad and replace “c:\\Program Files\\TextPad 5\\TextPad.exe” with editor of your choice. Save the changes and double click the .reg file to import registry entries.

Download more than two files at once

1. Click on Start->Run
2. Type regedit and click OK
3. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings
4. Right click Internet Settings and select New->DWORD (see screenshot)
5. Change the name to MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server
6. Double click MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server
7. Change Base to Decimal and type 10 in the value field. (see screenshot)
8. Click OK
9. Right click Internet Settings and select New->DWORD
10. Change the name to MaxConnectionsPerServer
11. Double click MaxConnectionsPerServer
12. Change Base to Decimal and type 10 in the value field.
13. Click OK
14. Quit Registry Editor

To download a .reg file that will automatically create the above entries click here. Double click the downloaded file to import registry entries.